I can't see any difference between hintfull or hintnone but it does no harm either way. Antialise "true" is what makes a difference for me. I chose this not because it had anything to offer over the default antialising in Puppy but because of the profound effect it has on kearning in Abiword. Without this improvement I found it very difficult to compose in Abiword and as a result I had to keep turning on the Formatting Marks otherwise I couldn't tell where spaces should or should not be in my documents.

IIRC "my" method is the same as SHS's method, except I wait for fonts to get bigger before turning on antialiasing, and I don't bother with all the weird dejavu fonts etc - I just use Arial for pretty much everything.

fonts.conf

Code:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd">
<!-- /etc/fonts/fonts.conf file to configure system font access -->
<!-- Modified version for Puppy Linux versions up through February 2008 by P.N. Courier a.k.a. -->
<!-- "SitHeelSpeak" or "Sit Heel Speak" on the Puppy Linux forums -->
<!-- SHS version 0.05 beta -->
<!-- Maintainer Keith Packard says not to edit this file, but I did. -->
<!-- Make a backup copy, in case this gets overwritten! -->
<!-- ...and, back up your original first! -->

<!-- (maintainer Keith Packard says...)
DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE.
IT WILL BE REPLACED WHEN FONTCONFIG IS UPDATED.
LOCAL CHANGES BELONG IN 'local.conf'.

The intent of this standard configuration file is to be adequate for
most environments. If you have a reasonably normal environment and
have found problems with this configuration, they are probably
things that others will also want fixed. Please submit any
problems to the fontconfig bugzilla system located at fontconfig.org

Note that the normal 'make install' procedure for fontconfig is to
replace any existing fonts.conf file with the new version. Place
any local customizations in local.conf which this file references.

Keith Packard
-->

<!-- Font subdirectories list for all Puppy Linuxes 1 and 2 up though 2.10 -->
<!-- Depending on whether it's Puppy 1 or 2, one or more of these subdirs may -->
<!-- not exist. Doesn't matter, no harm will result. -->
<!-- Should work in Puppy 2.10 since /usr/X11R6 is a symlink to /usr/X11R7. -->
<!-- If not, add corresponding X11R7 subdirs -->
<dir>~/.fonts</dir>
<dir>/usr/share/fonts/default/fonts</dir>
<dir>/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF</dir>
<dir>/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1</dir>
<dir>/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc</dir>

<!-- Preference list begins here. -->
<!-- This is the order in which fonts will be chosen when just -->
<!-- "serif," "sans-serif," or "monospace" is specified on the web page. -->
<!-- I believe it should match the "alias" lists, above, but am not sure. -->

I also changed the gtk font in ~/.gtkrc-2.0 to Arial or Helvetica, and changed the jwm font in /etc/xdg/templates/_root_.jwmrc (run fixmenus), and probably the default fonts my browsers use. Can't remember if in Puppy 4.x I still had to change that other setting to get Firefox and Thunderbird to use a proper font in their menus.
Also, I changed the menu font in Openoffice, and turned off antialiasing in its settings... I posted how to do the former a couple of years back _________________DEATH TO SPREADSHEETS
- - -
Classic Puppy quotes
- - -
Beware the demented serfers!

I set up .fonts.conf as above, and the results aer astonishing! Everything is displaying smoother and a little smaller. Firefox is especially clear.
Thanks for such a simple fix. The daft thing is, I am running JWM, which I understood was set up by default!_________________Spup Frugal HD and USB
Root forever!

DaveS,
You're welcome, I'm happy to help. Some thanks should go to Iguleder though because without his OP I wouldn't have a clue how to do this._________________Learn more about Puppy Linux: Puppy Linux FAQ
Protect your privacy: Scroogle.org - Ixquick

Sorry not to get back to you all in a timely fashion; I've discovered the Linux Kernel Driver Database (LKDDb) Project and, since I'm an experienced database programmer, am quite excited about it, and have decided to devote a week or two of intense concentration to the quest to bring LKDDb's goodness into the Puppy universe. So, no time to answer questions here in the detail they deserve. I will only just briefly comment:

1. My current local.conf antialiases only at size 13 pixels and larger.

2. There is definitely a difference between with and without my PET on my own 16" CRT. Perhaps a screenshot does not adequately convey it, perhaps the detailed settings in the mtPaint screen capture code are degrading the image.

3. Menu items and webpage rendering are two separate issues--gtk renderer versus the renderer the browser was compiled to use. AbiWord rendering is still another issue. PDF rendering is yet another issue. I will look into these after through with my current projects.

4. Where bci hinting (or equivalent) is compiled into cairo (or its build-chain), iguleder's simple method is the correct one to use. Where not, my PET. I foresee that as the patents expire, cairo will by default, in bits and pieces, begin to get bci or equivalent hinting compiled-in by default (obviously, this is starting to happen already, otherwise iguleder's method would not work) and everyone will meanwhile start programming to the simple convention which was stated by iguleder above. And then, when everyone has finished converting their code over to the convention and is programming a hinting facility into cairo --the new, right way-- iguleder's method will render mine unnecessary and obsolete.

5. But for now, on Puppy 4.21, my PET still gives better results. At least, on my CRT.

6. upup-466 is a woof-built Puppy (woof alpha-(9?)) which draws its source from the Ubuntu repositories. My surmise is that Ubuntu has cairo (or some key dependency) already compiled with bci-or-equivalent hinting in it, therefore addition of a PET such as mine is gilding the lily, i.e. performs hinting and antialiasing on fonting which has already had these operations performed, and so the result looks awful. I surmise that Puppy 4.12, unlike newer Puppies to 4.21, was built using Ubuntu's cairo (and/or dependencies) which is why it behaves well with iguleder's method but not mine. Newer Puppies will behave more or less well with iguleder's method, and less or more well with mine, depending on to what extent cairo has better-or-worse-quality hinting compiled in. The more skillful and up-to-date-on-his-programming-conventions the cairo-programmer was, the better iguleder's method and the worse my method will work.

And now, periscope down, back to autoconfiguration-of-kernel-compile-time-switches land...Last edited by Sit Heel Speak on Wed 02 Sep 2009, 02:26; edited 1 time in total

No. The screenshot I posted I took the day I posted it, running my 4.1.1 setup which uses an antique freetype package and the configuration files I posted in my last post.

Quote:

I’m using Abiword so on joy there because kearning is fubar (for document text) with antialiasing turned off in: .fonts.conf Sad Thanks for the reply.

I don't have any kerning issues with Abiword, probably because I'm using Windows fonts like Arial and they are being rendered exactly the same as they would be in Win98. I do have another problem with fonts in Abiword - they are invisible some of the time. But I believe that is an Abiword bug. The only reason I mentioned Openoffice is because it has its own settings, separate from the system-wide freetype settings. This I believe is annoying - programs should obey the system settings by default. Not that anyone else seems to believe it._________________DEATH TO SPREADSHEETS
- - -
Classic Puppy quotes
- - -
Beware the demented serfers!

Actually Disciple, I use Open Office all the time, and their anti-alias system aint that great
I too wish they could just use system defaults. Turning it off makes matters worse. On/Off/System Default would be a better menu option._________________Spup Frugal HD and USB
Root forever!

I set up .fonts.conf as above, and the results aer astonishing! Everything is displaying smoother and a little smaller. Firefox is especially clear.
Thanks for such a simple fix. The daft thing is, I am running JWM, which I understood was set up by default!

I too am running jwm in 4.1.2. I tried that exact mod you did, and compared screen snapshots. The snapshot with the default condition (no .fonts.conf file) was sharper than the other case, just the opposite of what you found. Guess it depends on the hardware...

I don't have any kerning issues with Abiword, probably because I'm using Windows fonts like Arial and they are being rendered exactly the same as they would be in Win98. I do have another problem with fonts in Abiword

Whose opinion? All of us?
My opinion is:
- It is essential for fonts that are really designed for it (The latest generation of Microsoft fonts - Cambria and Calibri or something. Note that I have not actually seen these fonts on linux, so I can't say for sure that the effect is the same as in Windows). But these fonts should never be used because they are hard on my eyes compared to things like Arial
- Old fashioned well-hinted fonts like Arial should not use antialiasing or sub-pixel rendering at small sizes. At large sizes they look better with it, but I don't really care as it isn't ruining my eyes either way. It's not costing me anything, so I guess it's worth it
- BCI hinting is essential
- Badly hinted fonts should never be used._________________DEATH TO SPREADSHEETS
- - -
Classic Puppy quotes
- - -
Beware the demented serfers!

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